novelraw Chapter 924: Negotiations
Chapter 924: Negotiations
Clang.
The mist-shrouded manhole cover was pushed aside.
A silhouette climbed out of the sewer and stepped onto the damp cobblestones.
Seawater fell like rain, making the gray-black streets look as if they were in the depths of autumn. The area was deserted, though a few figures scurried across a distant intersection.
The flickering lights in the distance cast a hazy glow through the curtain of rain, and the wail of sirens drifted through the air.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle cut through the air, mixed with the frantic pounding of footsteps. A team of police officers sprinted past, chasing a thief who was spilling a trail of glittering jewels as he ran.
As the officers, who had stopped to pick up the stolen goods, gradually disappeared into the distance, Lu Li emerged from the shadows of an alley, watching them go.
The police were stretched thin, struggling to contain the chaos erupting all over Vinnelag.
Walking in the opposite direction, Lu Li came upon a wide street overlooking the bay. Here, small groups of people strolled calmly under umbrellas, as if the riots were no concern of theirs.
Lu Li saw more scenes like this. Citizens with frightened faces, clutching their luggage and families, desperate to leave. Couples huddled together in a viewing area, admiring the bay. People looting shop windows, and amidst them, drivers in steam cars cruising along unhurriedly.Vinnelag was a city of bizarre contrasts, a fusion of tranquility and turmoil.
The citizens were still unaware of the twenty-four-hour countdown.
And now, less than four hours remained.
"Here's an umbrella."
A woman with long, wavy chestnut hair approached Lu Li of her own accord, holding her umbrella out to cover him. She tilted her head curiously, asking:
"Have we met before? I feel... you look very familiar."
"No."
To Lu Li, she was a complete stranger.
"I thought so. There aren't many people with black hair and black... You're an exorcist," the woman guessed, stifling a gasp in her throat.
Then she pushed the umbrella into Lu Li's hand and said earnestly:
"Take it. The Inquisition is looking for you. Run, get out of here!"
"What did the Inquisition tell you?"
Lu Li took the umbrella but didn't leave. He added:
"About the watery shell enveloping the city."
"They said an anomaly has surrounded the city, and that it's safe to stay in Vinnelag... Is something wrong?"
The woman glanced around nervously, but her constant furtive looks only made her seem more conspicuous.
The Inquisition had hidden the truth about the Deep God, and about the countdown.
"Do you know where the ancient being is?" Lu Li asked.
"The ancient being...?"
"The Deep God, the one responsible for all this." Lu Li looked up at the shimmering, glowing dome of water.
"...You could probably go to the port. It's swarming with soldiers. But be careful, they're looking for you."
It was a solid lead: soldiers were there to confront the anomaly.
However, they hadn't seen the Deep God in the bay when they first arrived, so the military presence might have been for another reason.
"Besides the port, are there any other places with a lot of soldiers?"
The woman shook her head in confusion.
Lu Li thanked her and, taking the umbrella, headed toward the City Hall.
As he walked, Lu Li noticed more and more Inquisition Guards patrolling the streets.
Whether they were there to protect the City Hall or not, it was clear the Inquisition knew he had escaped the dungeon.
Lu Li stopped before an Inquisition checkpoint. From here, he could see the lights of the City Hall, but numerous barricades blocked the way, making it impossible to proceed.
With three hours left, Lu Li had no time to force his way to the City Hall, nor to find other allies.
After a brief pause, Lu Li turned and walked away before the sentries at the distant checkpoint could spot him.
...
Vino the knight turned his head, staring at the tall figure holding an umbrella by the railing of the coastal road.
He knew Lu Li would come, but he shouldn't have appeared.
Taking a deep breath, Vino pointed toward the distant street, and his shout echoed across the harbor:
"I've found the exorcist!"
The orderly outskirts of the port descended into chaos as hidden Inquisition Guards burst from houses and shelters, rushing in the direction Vino had indicated.
It was a trap.
Lu Li, watching from afar, understood. Vino had been captured by the Inquisition. Even if he had proven his innocence, he shouldn't have stayed here.
Regardless, Vino had helped Lu Li clear the outer perimeter of the port, allowing him to slip inside unnoticed.
Enormous searchlights illuminated the sea surface near the port. This was likely Lu Li's destination.
The port itself was empty, and Lu Li quickly discovered why—
The remaining port workers exuded a briny scent stronger than the seawater itself. Holding harpoons, they blocked Lu Li's path, muttering indistinctly:
"Outsider... why... do you approach?"
"To solve the problem of the Deep God's invasion," Lu Li replied.
The worker's face twisted with hatred and ferocity as he raised his harpoon.
"Desecrator of the ancient one, you vile creature..."
The contamination from the Deep God was beginning to manifest.
"I am a guest of the Deep God. This is my token." Lu Li changed his tactic, revealing the sea pearl that hung around his neck.
The worker, now a follower, fell prostrate, trembling. "Forgive my impudence, exalted one. The Master is just ahead."
Lu Li continued forward, folded the umbrella, and reached the patch of sea in front of the searchlight-illuminated pier.
The water heaved, swelled, and an indescribable shadow slowly rose from the depths.
Waves rolled outward, causing the ships in the harbor to rock and retreat. The shrill sound of sirens echoed from Vinnelag behind him, and in the distance, ant-like figures scattered in every direction.
The enormous searchlight was like a lit match in a cavernous room, illuminating only a minuscule portion of the entity. The figures looking up from the pier were even smaller, like motes of dust.
"Mortal, I am the Deep God. State your purpose," it rumbled, bowing its head to look down at Lu Li.
"You must not transform Vinnelag."
Lu Li knew it remembered him, which was why he had been granted an audience.
"Humans are the last known intelligent beings on this land."
They are gathered only in Midnicht and Vinnelag.
If you transform this place, humanity will lose half its numbers.
"Ants cannot see the distant tsunami..."
"What did you see on the other side of the World's Spine Mountains?"
Whatever happened there was the reason the Deep God had come to the city.
"...Decay and death."
"So you want to transform people to gain power?"
"That would be killing the people..."
Humans always mistakenly believe that deities protect them. But the ancient beings they consider gods have never cared who inhabited this land. Humans? The generation before them? An even earlier intelligent species? They merely protect the world.
"Lu Li... what do you intend to do?"
Lu Li's name, carried on the Deep God's low voice, echoed through the city.
"Stop you," Lu Li answered calmly.
"That... is betrayal!"
The enraged Deep God raised its immense, crushing pincer, larger than a warship, and brought it down on Lu Li.
The expected impact never came. The tip of its pincer merely brushed against the sea pearl Lu Li wore, who hadn't flinched. The pearl shattered into a shower of light, and the giant pincer slowly withdrew.
The Deep God, emanating divine indifference and mystery, slowly submerged back into the sea. With strange, outward-rippling waves, it swam away from Vinnelag.
The watery dome dissolved without a sound and collapsed, bringing a short, violent downpour to Vinnelag, which then, seized by a sudden chill, froze.
Snowflakes like goose feathers began to fall, blanketing the city in silence.
In Vinnelag, the crisis had passed.